It’s the mark of a high-quality television show when the characters are allowed to grow and evolve. When you’re watching a series in which all of the characters stay exactly the same, it can feel like the show is stagnant. Procedurals can sometimes fall into this trap, but ABC’s 9-1-1 is proving that they’re willing to take some risks when it comes to their characters’ development. Perhaps the biggest risk was their decision to kill off Captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) back in Season 8, permanently altering the shape of the core team. Now, with the procedural heading into its tenth season, 9-1-1 is allowing one other character to change in a major way.
Buck Agrees To Foster Theo in the Season 9 Finale of ‘9-1-1’
Although Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) has matured a bit since his irresponsible and reckless days as a probie for the 118 Firehouse, his character hasn’t really transformed over the seasons. He’s still getting into plenty of shenanigans, like suddenly becoming a math genius in Season 6 or accidentally dating a pair of siblings in Season 9. But over the last season, Buck has really stepped up in helping his crew grieve the loss of Bobby. He’s also tried to be healthier in his relationship with his BFF, Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman).
But Buck is given a chance to truly grow up when he learns that his friends, Connor (Colin McCalla) and Kameron (Chelsea Kane) have been killed in a car accident at the end of Season 9. Their young son, Theo (Lincoln and Theodore Sykes), is actually Buck’s biological son and has survived the crash. In the Season 9 finale, the whole crew is gathered together. Harry Grant (Elijah M. Cooper) makes a casual comment about how everyone at the party either has kids or is a kid themselves. This seems to result in a realization for Buck, who knows that he can no longer count himself as a kid anymore. He makes the decision to foster Theo, which will be a major developmet for Buck after nine seasons.
There’s no way that fostering Theo won’t end up having a huge impact on Buck. This is the first time that Buck has entered into this type of long-term commitment, and it will be the beginning of his having to put someone else above himself. Buck has been pretty self-centered in the past, and this responsibility will force him to grow up in many important ways. In the past, we’ve seen Buck with his niece, Jee-Yun (Hailey and Bailey Leung), and Eddie’s son, Christopher (Gavin McHugh), so we know that he’s good with kids. But babysitting is massively different from being a child’s sole caretaker, especially one who is as wildly destructive and hyper as Theo seems to be. This change will be a significant one for the show, as we’ll likely get to see Buck with a whole new set of challenges, giving his character a much-needed revamp.
For Buck to evolve, his character needs to actually mature. We did see Buck struggle with addiction in Season 9, but this story arc felt a bit rushed. This left viewers wishing for an event that would impact Buck’s life in a meaningful way. It’s definitely time Buck grew up, especially because the show has made an effort to point out that he’s not getting any younger in previous episodes. Fostering Theo then becomes a natural progression in Buck’s life, which feels organic and exciting at the same time. This change also paves the way for 9-1-1 to switch some of its focus to Harry, who can be seen as the new probie, with dating and firehouse mishaps that are appropriate for his age. These types of character developments result in the show growing without the narratives feeling forced.
As we see Buck on his journey to foster Theo (and perhaps to even adopt him one day), 9-1-1 is setting up Season 10 to have some fresh storylines (without actually endangering anyone’s life for once). By allowing Buck to grow up and take on an important, selfless responsibility, 9-1-1 is heading into the future with a plot for Buck’s character that has the chance to be both compelling and moving to watch. That’s not to say that Buck won’t still have tons of obstacles, likely resulting in some humorous, light-hearted scenes, but his character is at least finally getting the chance to move beyond his immature, childish ways.